30 Under 30: Wiz Khalifa And Music's Brightest Young Stars Of 2012

Everything Wiz Khalifa does, he does it big. That’s what the lanky rapper says in the chorus of his smash hit “Black and Yellow,” anyway, and it rings truer than ever as he ticks through his latest accomplishments on a recent Monday evening in Manhattan.

This year he proposed to girlfriend Amber Rose, prepared to welcome their first child into the world, and released a new album, O.N.I.F.C., which debuted at No. 2 on the charts with first-week sales of 148,000. Buoyed by a heavy touring schedule, he earned an estimated $9 million. Yet his latest accomplishment—landing on FORBES’ 30 Under 30 music list alongside the likes of Lady Gaga—has had a humbling effect.

“It means a lot, man, because those people, they do it really big,” he says. “You think of Lady Gaga, you think of megastar. So to just be mentioned in that same [breath], that’s big, man. It gives me a lot to work towards.”

Khalifa and Gaga are joined in the music category by a host of other singers, songwriters, producers, executives and entrepreneurs who are leading the industry into an uncertain but fascinating future. As power shifts away from the traditional sources, listmembers like Spotify founder Daniel Ek, 29, are more influential than ever. Following closely behind are the even-younger founders of startups like Next Big Sound.

This next generation of power brokers will help shape the careers of an outstanding crop of young superstars already flexing their own entrepreneurial muscles. Among them are 30 Under 30 members including Adele, 24, who’s still selling CDs like it’s 1999; Skrillex, 24, the side-mulleted DJ who made $15 million last year by helping to define a business model for electronic dance music; and Justin Bieber, 18, who’s making a career for himself as a venture capitalist.

“[It’s a] great lineup,” says Cash Money Records CEO Bryan “Birdman” Williams, one of the three judges for this year’s 30 Under 30 music list, each of whom nominated a handful of names. He’s joined by AEG Live chief Randy Phillips and Cameron Strang, the Chairman of Warner/Chappell Music and head of WMG’s West Coast operations.

In California, Strang has had plenty of time to scope out two of the brightest young stars in the business: Bruno Mars and Katy Perry.

“I started working with Bruno when he was still an aspiring performer and songwriter—he has become a genuine superstar … the new album is an amazing showcase for the depth and range of his talent,” says Strang. “[Perry] was already one of the biggest stars in the world but her last couple of singles took her to a new level, both artistically and in terms of her popularity.”

Phillips, meanwhile, has had his eye on Khalifa for quite a while.

“We identify him at our company as one of the next potential superstars in the genre and someone who will develop into a major hard ticket act,” Phillips told FORBES last year. “You know it’s getting really big when it crosses over to suburban kids.”

So far, that prophecy has been right on the money—and Khalifa’s trajectory should continue its upward trend, at least if the rapper’s attitude is any indication.

“I don’t see this as time to slow down or chill out,” says Khalifa. “I see it as a time to go harder because I’ve got new motivation.”

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Just wondering, where the judges meet for this type of event? It is cool that Birdman, was on the panel, I feel like that was a good representation, in addition to the other 2? And how long was the judging period, did Birdman, Randy, and Cameron just all sit down, and politic for hours on end, or days, until the list was complete?